General

Coroner says many people are unaware of the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning

A coroner who recorded a verdict of accidental death on a teenage girl who died in a camping tragedy in Shropshire told members of her family:

“It’s quite clear that you and many, many people were unaware of the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

“The risk you were addressing when you brought that barbecue in, in its dying embers, was against fire, said Coroner Mr John Ellery.

“That was a risk you acted against, but sadly what was happening was that carbon monoxide was coming from those embers.

It is Holocaust Memorial Day on 27 January

The theme for Holocaust Memorial Day 2013 is “Communities together: Build a Bridge” asking you to remember and stand by those who were forced to live through these experiences. We want you to honour those communities which were destroyed in the Holocaust, under Nazi Persecution and in subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia and Darfur.

Motorists warned to take care in snow

With heavy snow forecast over the West Midlands region on Friday, the Safer Roads Partnership in Warwickshire and West Mercia is reminding motorists to take extra care on the roads over the next few days. The Met Office has issued an amber warning of snow in the region between 3am and 9pm on Friday (18th January) and the potential for severe travel disruption.

County Fire Service leads way in carbon monoxide prevention

Fire officers are helping to educate the Shropshire public about the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning after the tragic death of 14-year-old Hannah Thomas-Jones.

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service is also supporting a nationwide campaign to protect people from “the silent killer.”

Station Manager Shaun Baker told a coroner today how he carried out a reconstruction of the event leading up to the teenager’s death in a family camping tragedy in Bucknell, Shropshire as part of a joint investigation with police in May last year.

Motorists warned to take care on icy roads

The Safer Roads Partnership in Warwickshire and West Mercia is reminding motorists to take extra care on the roads during the current cold spell, as freezing temperatures have caused icy and slippery roads in many areas across the region.

With temperatures plummeting overnight, road conditions in the mornings are becoming hazardous in some areas, with reports of black ice and slippery roads. Driving in these conditions can be particularly challenging for drivers as vehicle handling changes and stopping times and distances increase.

Fire warning for portable heaters

A campaign to alert householders about the potential fire hazard from portable heaters wrongly used in the home has been launched in Telford by Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Community fire safety officers were at the Asda supermarket in Donnington on Monday this week to talk to shoppers about the dangers.

There have been up to 50 possible incidents involving portable heating and other electric equipment in county homes over the past three years with around 1,200 reported nationwide each year.

Cold weather warning for motorists

The Safer Roads Partnership in Warwickshire and West Mercia is warning motorists in the region to take extra care on the roads over the weekend as temperatures are set to plummet. The Met Office has forecast outbreaks of rain, sleet and snow across the West Midlands on Saturday followed by a rapid drop in temperature which will lead to a risk of icy and slippery roads.

Man convicted of arson

A 22 year old man from Leegomery, Telford was convicted of seven counts of arson and one of arson recklessly endangering life following a trial at Shrewsbury Crown Court.

The man was sentenced to five and a half years imprisonment at Shrewsbury Crown Court on 20th December 2012.

The offences relate to incidents involving vehicles in the Hadley and Leegomery area of Telford in the early hours of April 6th last year.

Extra £1 million in cuts for Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service

Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service may have to make an extra £1.3m cuts per year by 2016 – making reductions in “the front line” a very real possibility, revealed the Chief Fire Officer.

This comes on top of the £3.2m in cuts already made to its £20m annual budget – together meaning that the brigade will suffer a more than 20 per cent budget reduction by 2016.

Chief Fire Officer Paul Raymond said today: “We were facing a difficult challenge in 2010 with the prospect of a £3 million cut to our budget by 2016.

Festival of Carols

Santa Claus pictured in the cage of the Aerial Ladder Platform in the dark high above the ground, with Christmas lights in the background

The voices of children from two school choirs accompanied by Shropshire firefighters and their families and friends rang out from a county church in the fire service’s annual Christmas Festival of Carols.

Pages

Subscribe to RSS - General